The air-leakage requirements of the latest Building Regulations will have an effect on space heating systems. KEITH SPRAGUE explains how radiant and warm-air systems will fare under the new regulations.

Keston Boilers has supplied two SEDBUK A rated high-efficiency C55 boilers for the new £34 million Nugent House annexe of Eastbourne College. For speed of installation, the boilers were built into a bespoke floor-standing rig. Savings in installation costs were also made possible by the small-diameter flue system, which can run up to 45 m vertically or horizontally.

Comfort and safety for children in a new primary have been achieved using a Robbens underfloor heating system. The new Church of England primary school at Yaxham in Norfolk replaces a building dating from the nineteenth century.

The Econo-Air 3000 series of direct-fired gas heating and ventilating system from Stokvis Energy Systems incorporates high-efficiency burner and controls to optimise energy usage, minimise the effects of draughts and cold penetration, and instantly respond to falls in internal temperature.

Energy-efficient underfloor heating systems are being installed in the Piers Arts Centre in Stromness, Orkney, to provide background heating. The museum is being renovated and regenerated, with an extension to link the two existing buildings. The Raychem systems are being used extensively, including the entrance, galleries, lobbies and cloakroom areas.

The heating range of Dimplex includes products for most commercial, light-industrial and domestic applications — enabling the creation of fully integrated heating systems or the provision of localised room or spot heating.

The Redring Hotbox electric boiler provides economical heating where space is limited or gas is unavailable. These boilers drive sealed wet systems in light-commercial or domestic situations. They can deliver a flow temperature of 60°C to eight radiators against an outside temperature of 0°C.

14 engineering upgrades suggested by extensive customer feedback are incorporated into Ferroli’s new Optimax HE combi and system boilers. Almost all involve making life easier for the installer and service engineer by giving all parts and connections more hand and tool space — without increasing the size of the boiler.

A reduction in heating costs of up to 30% is claimed by Airflow Developments by using its Economiser to take warm air from the roof void in large buildings and redirect it back down to floor level. This claim is substantiated by an independent investigation carried out by BSRIA. The product lends itself to use in retail warehouses, factories and community leisure facilities.

Nearly 2500 m2 of underfloor heating has been installed at Young Options College in Shifnal, Shropshire. Unusually, the tubing was installed by fixing it directly to the reinforcing mesh within the slab by Thermo-floor rather than installing onto the slab and then covering it with a screed.

Autron’s range of LST (low surface temperature) radiators has been independently tested by BSRIA for heating output and casing temperature — ensuring that specifiers, contractors and users can be confident of quoted performance data.

Coverad has developed a range of induced-airflow electric heaters for commercial applications that meet the needs of current legislation and cater for a market where safety, electrical efficiency, ease of installation, low maintenance and robust construction are required.

Osma Underfloor Heating has published a new guide for professional heating installers. It describes the wide range of solutions from the company and provides best-practice advice for working with underfloor heating systems in commercial and domestic applications.

Operational savings of over £50 000 a year are being achieved following the installation of long-life, maintenance-free Endurance luminaires from Chalmor. These luminaires have been installed in the new warehouse and factory of Knauf Drywall in South Humberside.

CIBSE’s campaign to reduce carbon emissions this summer was an outstanding success. The outcome shows clearly just how much can be done for a small effort and investment. Our coverage of this campaign highlights the achievement of some of the award winners, with useful lessons for readers keen to mimic their success.

To maximise the use of daylight in new accommodation units and laboratory for the British Antarctic Survey at Bird Island, South Georgia, Monodraught SunPipes have been installed. The site has continuous daylight for about 10 weeks of the summer and very long days for about six months. In the winter, it is either dark or the Sun does not appear above the horizon.

Centralised hot-water services for two prestigious residential developments in West London are provided by installations based on Andrews water heaters. Consultants Chapman Bathurst specified the equipment for The Phillimores (the redevelopment of Queen Elizabeth College in Duchess of Bedford Walk) and Phillimore Square (a project on the Sir John Atkins site, which formed part of King’s College and includes the creation of a new residential square).

A tailor-made backup-power solution has been devised by Scorpion Power Systems to support the expanding IT network of Servebase Global Card Solutions. Servebase is a significant player in EFTPOS and card-processing software and wanted to ensure that it could always respond to customer demand, even during a mains power failure.

Star Refrigeration has now completed the installation of an Indigochiller cooling system to serve the headquarters of BSkyB in London. The Indigochiller uses R134a and has electromagnetic bearings in the compressor to eliminate the leakage of refrigerant. It was development in direct response to proposed F-gas regulations.

Carrier has added to its list of museums using its equipment for air conditioning with an installation for the a new exhibition hall at the Deutsche Historische Museum in Berlin. It was designed by Chinese-American architect leoh Ming Pei and houses a permanent exhibition depicting German history in images and eye-witness reports. Other Carrier museum projects include Tate Modern in London and the Uffizi in Florence. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in Rome are also protected by Carrier air conditioning.

Computer server rooms supporting the administration of the whole of Derbyshire are being kept at the required temperature by a strategic combination of Toshiba 2-pipe and 3-pipe VRF systems. The SMMS and SHRM systems use R410A.